by Yuval Barnea, VP Sales and Marketing at RodRadar

The use of ground-penetrating radar has increased, but so have utility strikes. How can this technology be more effectively harnessed to make a meaningful impact?

Accidental utility strikes remain a persistent and costly issue in modern construction projects. Whether it is power lines, gas mains, water pipes, communication cables, or other underground infrastructure, utility strikes lead to significant safety issues, severe financial losses, and lengthy operational delays. Beyond project delays and the direct costs of repairs, utility strikes also expose contractors to regulatory penalties and reputational damage.

For quite some time, many in the construction industry have attempted to solve this issue by integrating Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and other locating technologies into their pre-project workflows. GPR is a non-destructive technology that transmits radio waves into the ground and analyzes the reflected signals. The properties of different subsurface objects can be inferred through detailed analysis of these reflected radio waves. This allows specialists using GPRs to develop subsurface profiles and suggest locations for underground utility lines.

However, due to the inherent limitations of state-of-the-art GPRs used at the surface level, pre-project GPR surveys that aim to reliably map underground utility infrastructure struggle to reduce strikes in real-world scenarios. Advances in GPR hardware and design are enabling more effective deployment methods, which facilitate the return of live data. By scanning the earth at the same time excavation is performed and providing real-time data, operators can receive immediate alerts about the proximity to underground infrastructure as they dig, so that they can avoid utilities. This requires a transformation in GPR technology, developing new techniques to integrate it directly into excavation equipment rather than as a standalone pre-project surveying tool.

Each year, the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) publishes an analysis of data from the Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) that tracks damage to buried infrastructure in the U.S. and Canada. These reports show that utility strikes continue to increase, costing the industry 10s of billions of dollars each year. These costs include:

• Direct repair costs for fixing any damaged infrastructure
• Project delays due to work stoppages
• Potential fines and penalties imposed by regulatory bodies

From a safety perspective, accidental strikes can lead to severe injuries or fatalities, particularly when dealing with high-voltage electrical lines or pressurized gas mains.

The CGA’s most recent report, published for 2024, shows there were 200,000 unique reports of damage to buried infrastructure in North America alone during the year. But these are only the reported ones. Industry experts estimate the actual strikes to be at least five times this number, as many go unreported. Analysis reveals a continuous increase in damage year-to-year based on the CGA index, a custom metric defined by the trade association here.

The Co-Chair of CGA’s Data Reporting and Evaluation Committee, Louis Panzer, states that “The CGA Index tells us that damages are tracking with construction activity, not with the improvements we know are possible.”

GPR sends radio frequency pulses into the ground, measuring their reflections to enable mapping the subsurface in a manner similar to traditional radar, but also very different. The properties of the soil and conditions determine how radio waves propagate. If two materials significantly differ in their properties, e.g. soil and buried utilities, it is possible to measure the reflection of radio waves at the boundary between them.

By monitoring reflected waves, particularly the time delay between the original and reflected pulses, GPR technology can estimate the depth of different subsurface materials and even infer properties about the various materials present. With sophisticated algorithms and data analysis techniques, GPR data can be translated into a profile of the underground environment, identifying features such as utility infrastructure.

A survey published in January 2025 by the Associated General Contractors of America found that GPR was the most popular newer technology being used as part of utility excavation. 41% of contractors surveyed stated they have integrated GPR. Given its widespread use, the fact that damage to buried infrastructure is still increasing shows major limitations in current GPR construction practices.

Electro-Magnetic locators and GPRs are typically part of the pre-excavation process, used in combination with “call before you dig”  811 services. Locating and surveying are conducted as a discrete survey with specialized crews to map the subsurface. This data is then analyzed and interpreted, often off-line and off-site, to generate reports for the construction team to use at a later date.

This workflow creates several challenges:

• There are inherent limitations to surface scanning and locating, including the utility type and the actual depth to which EM and GPR waves penetrate the ground, which is affected by soil type and conditions. Some utilities may not be detected.
• There is a time gap between data collection and excavation, during which site conditions may change due to soil movement, weather, or other factors.
• GPR data interpretation is complex and requires trained personnel. In some cases, data is misinterpreted, leading to inaccuracies in both the depth and position of utilities.
• The operator must accurately interpret surface-level markings and prescan data to determine subsurface utility locations.

Another critical issue is the disconnect between GPR scan data and the operator digging on site each day. Thankfully, new technologies are finding ways to translate GPR utility data into solutions that help the operator avoid utility lines in real time as they are moving the excavator bucket.

To address these limitations, researchers and technology developers have explored the integration of GPR directly into construction equipment, specifically excavator buckets. This approach aims to overcome the major limitations of existing solutions by providing real-time subsurface imaging at the exact dig location, while digging, empowering the operators by giving them actionable information precisely when and where it is needed to avoid utilities.

However, the technical challenges of GPR integration are significant. Excavation equipment must operate in harsh conditions, with buckets subjected to high mechanical stresses, vibrations, and impacts. Embedding sensitive GPR technology directly into construction equipment and detecting any type of buried utilities in real-life conditions requires robust electronics that can withstand significant forces. Additionally, the GPR architecture should meet the application requirements, and the system must analyze and deliver results quickly enough to generate actionable data on each pass without slowing operations.

Recent advances in hardware and software have made this integration possible. One example is the Live Dig Radar® (LDR) system from RodRadar, which embeds proprietary GPR sensors directly within the excavator bucket. This implementation allows the equipment to generate a new scan every time the bucket passes through the soil, providing continuous detections and real-time actionable alerts to the operator.

Embedding a GPR directly into construction equipment, together with applying real-time AI and advanced automated algorithms, allows results to be displayed in real time on an in-cab interface, often with both visual and audible alerts to indicate suspected utilities. By showing the position and depth of utility infrastructure in real-time with every scan, this system enables operators to take immediate action. This includes stopping excavation or adjusting their approach before a strike occurs.

Importantly, this approach does not require off-site expert data interpretation, allowing field crews to act without waiting for a surveyor or engineer to process and review results or without relying on missing or inaccurate data. The goal is to abstract away the complex data-gathering and analysis, providing a simple tool that returns actionable information to operators to minimize the risk of utility strikes.

This proactive approach represents a shift from pre-dig risk assessment toward real-time risk avoidance. Instead of relying solely on pre-construction data and surveys, crews can dynamically identify buried hazards as they work. This can reduce the dependency on limited and at times unreliable pre-project locating operations and minimize downtime between project phases.

While GPR has been part of the industry’s toolkit for years, its use as a pre-excavation survey tool has not delivered the desired reduction in strike incidents. Direct integration of GPR into excavation equipment offers a promising path forward to reduce the risk of utility strikes.

If successfully deployed at scale, the direct integration of GPR into excavation equipment has the potential to significantly improve safety outcomes, reduce project delays, and lower the overall cost burden of accidental utility damage. By delivering real-time data at the point of excavation, such systems empower operators to avoid utilities proactively, reducing safety risks, downtime, and financial costs.

Barnea leads RodRadar’s Live Dig Radar® technology introduction to the construction industry, sharing his expertise in major events and publications. Prior to joining RodRadar he served in multiple senior management and VP roles as Sales, Marketing and Business Development at various corporations including Nasdaq-traded PowerDsine & Microsemi. Yuval holds BSc in Physics and Computers from Ben-Gurion University.

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